Meanwhile, Tang San's divine sense overheard the conversation between Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena. Realizing they were completely unaware of the Golden Dragon King seal's existence—knowing only that Wulin possessed the Golden Dragon King's bloodline and that his cultivation was meager—and that neither had noticed his divine sense probing them, he breathed an immediate sigh of relief.
At the same time, Tang San began turning over the information he had gathered.
*Huo Yuhao appears to have allied with the Silver Dragon King. Did he cross over from death back into life and survive until now all because of her? Is the Silver Dragon King the mastermind behind everything?*
Tang San's divine sense grew heavy with contemplation.
The Silver Dragon King was an avatar of the Dragon God. Unlike the mad Golden Dragon King, she embodied his reason and wisdom, and that reputation now proved well-deserved.
Right under the watchful eye of his true body, she had silently brought Huo Yuhao under her wing, helped him feign his death to escape, and slipped entirely beyond the God Realm's grasp. Formidable indeed!
Viewed in that light, given the Silver Dragon King's standing, the plane's Fortune was very likely resting on the Auspicious Beast in the Star Dou Great Forest. That was by far the most plausible explanation!
Yet Fortune and Huo Yuhao were no longer paramount.
The real issue was that an entity surpassing a first-class god lurked within the Spirit Pagoda—none other than the Silver Dragon King, the embodiment of the Dragon God's intellect!
*She didn't detect my divine sense, and her aura feels identical to that of an ordinary Great Spirit Master. Has she undergone re-cultivation just like Huo Yuhao? Or is it something else? Why?*
Tang San's divine sense flickered with scheming thoughts, his expression shifting continuously. *No, striking at her directly would be ill-advised. I must take the Abyss into account. If a divine conflict erupts and allows the Abyss to invade, the consequences would be catastrophic.*
At this moment, the Abyss had become a thorough thorn in his side.
Though it was destined to be mere nourishment on his plate, it was still a dish guarded by a first-class god—far too tough to chew carelessly. Until the Abyss was resolved, his father could not act freely, and he had to proceed with caution.
*Or... turning the Silver Dragon King against the Abyss might be another way forward.*
His train of thought shifted, and a path immediately opened before him.
The enemy was in the light while he was in the dark, giving him the advantage... Well, the other side possessed two entities surpassing first-class gods, so he held no true advantage, but at least it was far from the worst-case scenario.
With the Silver Dragon King exposed, he could orchestrate events so she and the Abyss tore each other to pieces. Soul Beasts and the Douluo Federation now rose and fell together; he refused to believe she would sit idly by and watch this favorable situation destroyed by the Abyss!
As for Huo Yuhao?
Beneath the realm of gods, all were ants. His father could hold Huo Yuhao's cultivation at bay indefinitely, barring him from ascending to godhood. Not just him—every non-divine being bound within this plane lacked the right even to sit at the chessboard.
The only true heroes in this world were himself and the Silver Dragon King!
Once the Silver Dragon King and the Abyssal Monarch were both mutually crippled, taking care of someone who was at most a quasi-god would be effortless.
Tang San's divine sense cast one final glance at Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena, lingered deeply on the latter, and sank back into slumber.
From this point forward, unless strictly necessary, he would no longer expend the power of his divine sense. He would absorb the energy leaking from the Golden Dragon King seal, gathering enough divine sense power to await his opportunity.
***
Watching Tang Wulin leave with Jinyu, Huo Yuhao dispelled his domain, stowed away the Blood Source Pivot Crystal containing the extracted strand of bloodline power, and looked inward. His gaze turned profound as he observed the Golden Dragon King bloodline, intentionally enveloped in soul power rather than integrated into his body.
*We will play this game slowly...*
"Yuhao, why did you have me speak like that just now?" Gu Yuena asked from the side.
Huo Yuhao drew his gaze back and turned toward her. "The countermeasure within him, based on my probing, is a divine sense left behind by the Sea God—one that has retained its memories. Be careful going forward."
"I see."
Gu Yuena blinked, nodding thoughtfully. *So Yuhao had me say those things to mislead him? Is he trying to obtain something from the Sea God?*
Then Huo Yuhao's gentle, measured voice sounded: "I was the one who needed to extract the Golden Dragon King's bloodline. You didn't have to come."
"...I just thought it would be safer if there were two of us," Gu Yuena murmured softly.
*Why does it feel like Yuhao is a little upset...?*
Huo Yuhao parted his lips to say something, but in the end he offered only a helpless smile. "Never mind, let's not dwell on what's done. What would you like for lunch? I'll cook."
"Really?"
Gu Yuena's eyes brightened. Realizing he was not truly angry, she looked up and began counting on her fingers. "Then I'd like what we had last time..."
Huo Yuhao listened quietly, walking alongside her toward the kitchen.
Within the Sea of Spirit, the Ice Empress cautioned, *Yuhao, don't blame me for speaking out of turn, but she might just be trying to raise your opinion of her. After all, in her eyes, you are a Godking.*
She still found it hard to believe that a dignified deity embodying wisdom would act like this... Then again, she had not heard many legends of the Dragon God; where exactly was this supposed wisdom?
*Judge by deed, not intent. She came... and that is enough.*
Huo Yuhao smiled faintly, offering no further explanation.
***
The day passed swiftly. When night fell, Huo Yuhao raised his hand, tracing a grey hexagram in the air.
Grey radiance unfurled, and a massive hexagram slowly descended to the ground. As the brilliant grey halo surged once more, it enveloped Huo Yuhao's body entirely.
With a flash of light, he vanished from the spot.
The Undead Half-Plane was a world veiled in darkness. High in the sky hung a bizarre sun, pitch-black throughout, as though it had swallowed every scrap of light.
Huo Yuhao materialized upon ground stained as dark as pooled ink. He sat down cross-legged, three Spirit Rings rising around him, and the grey-gold Spirit Ring abruptly flared with brilliance.
Third spirit ability: Heavenly Silkworm Transformation!
Huo Yuhao directed his spiritual power inward. Under the effects of Heavenly Silkworm Transformation, the various bloodline powers within him separated cleanly, manifesting in vivid, distinct hues.
The silver-white radiance representing the Silver Dragon King's bloodline permeated his entire body.
Beside it was the Golden Dragon King bloodline he had extracted but left unabsorbed.
And the bloodline of the Ice Empress Martial Soul was gathered along his back in the form of the Martial Soul Origin.
This was one of the effects of Heavenly Silkworm Transformation: bringing bloodline powers into tangible form to facilitate absorption and fusion.
Looking at the three distinct bloodline powers within him, Huo Yuhao channeled the strength of his Spirit Ring, using soul power as a guide to draw the integrated Silver Dragon King bloodline out from every corner of his body...
His face paled for an instant, a fine sheen of sweat breaking out across his forehead, yet his expression remained steady throughout. The Eye of Life on his brow opened, and the vitality belonging to Life Gold surged forth, nourishing and restoring his physique.
The process unfolded swiftly. Heavenly Silkworm Transformation possessed tremendous capacity for absorbing bloodline power, and soon all of the Silver Dragon King bloodline had been drawn together at the location of his Ice Empress Martial Soul Origin.
Looking at the gathered Silver Dragon King bloodline, Huo Yuhao fell silent for a moment.
This volume was far greater than he had anticipated...
*Just as well. If the Silver Dragon King bloodline weren't strong enough and the Golden Dragon King bloodline weren't this faint, I wouldn't dare attempt this.*
With that thought, Huo Yuhao guided his soul power once more, driving the extracted Golden Dragon King bloodline directly into the mass of Silver Dragon King bloodline.
Gold and silver light collided fiercely, refusing to yield as each sought to suppress the other and seize dominance, neither willing to submit.
Yet the struggle was futile.
Huo Yuhao's Silver Dragon King bloodline stemmed from the complete power of the Silver Dragon King herself, possessing a potency that far surpassed this mere trace of the Golden Dragon King's bloodline, and it steadily bore down on it.
Time flowed by, hours slipping past.
At last, the silver light swallowed the golden radiance entirely, coalescing into a small sphere of silver that flickered with a faint seven-colored halo.
It was not yet stable; a strong mutual repulsion lingered within it, as though the golden light might wrench itself free at any second.
Huo Yuhao gave it no such opportunity. His third Spirit Ring flared with golden brilliance and dissolved into his body, forming a vortex resembling a black hole directly before the Ice Empress Martial Soul Origin, drawing that bloodline power straight inside!
Chapter 78